NORFOLK, VA – A federal judge is attempting to preserve the largest collection of artifacts excavated from the Titanic remains, and one key person is on her side.

NORFOLK, VA – A federal judge is attempting to preserve the largest collection of artifacts excavated from the Titanic remains, and one key person is on her side.

An Atlanta company called RMS Titanic, Inc. gathered 5,900 artifacts during six dives down to the wreckage. Previous courts have already decided that while the company has exclusive right of salvage to the ship, they do not get to own any of the items found.

U.S. District Judge Rebecca Beach Smith is expected to rule that the artifacts must be kept together and accessible to the public, effectively eliminating any possibility of them showing up on auction.

It is rumored that Judge Smith was heavily swayed by the testimony of Captain E.J. Smith, the captain of the original Titanic who was discovered back in 1991. As long-time Weekly World News readers may recall, Captain Smith was found sitting in a lifeboat smoking an old pipe about 242 miles southwest of Iceland. He appeared to have not aged a day!

Captain Smith was soon whisked to Oslo to have his identity confirmed, and to be tested and cared for. He never accepted any interview requests, and soon faded into obscurity in the Norwegian countryside. However, it seems Captain Smith has finally emerged to honor and defend the 1,521 people who died in the Titanic disaster.

A court attendee explained, “I think he is trying to atone for what happened to the ship. As captain, he was in charge of thousands of lives and he let them down. By some miracle, he is alive here and now. What else could it be except God’s intervention?”